A 23-year-old man jumped off the Highway 118 bridge over Princeton Avenue in Moorpark on Wednesday evening but somehow survived and was airlifted from the scene for treatment. The incident only added to traffic woes and shut down the Metrolink track briefly, resurfacing debates about mental health and suicide-prevention measures in the area.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol responded to the emergency at about 5:07 p.m. after reports came in of a man jumping from the overpass. Witnesses told investigators that a man parked a white sedan on the eastbound 118, got out and jumped. He was possibly wearing a tie-dye shirt, deputies said.
Sheriffs Captain Nick Odenath said deputies were already in the area and “responded quickly.” The man was found underneath the bridge, near the railroad tracks and the arroyo, where he was alert and waving at deputies but was unable to get up.
Because the scene had heavy brush and was steep, it was determined by personnel from the Ventura County Fire Department that bringing him out on foot would be unsafe.
The Sheriff’s Air Unit called in Copter 9, which did a hoist operation, having first lowered a medic to the injured man and then airlifting him to the Los Robles Regional Medical Center. His condition is unknown as of this posting.
The collision caused a portion of eastbound Highway 118 between Highway 23 and Princeton Avenue to be closed temporarily, snarling traffic for hours. The incident also suspended Metrolink train service in the area for 45 minutes to assist the rescue process.
The incident happened just months after the California Department of Transportation announced plans to build a suicide-prevention barrier along the Highway 118 overpass. That measure is expected to be in place later this year.
Authorities are utilizing this incident as a reminder to the public on mental health and available resources. If anyone is in suicidal thoughts or emotional distress, call or message 988 to connect with free and confidential support from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available in both English and Spanish.
That such a miraculous survival is possible is proof of another powerful truth: that help can always be had, that no one must ever struggle without hope.
